


Bonds Nanashi done fucked it up

by Rago_Dragovian



Series: Snapshots of the Apocalyptic Multiverse [4]
Category: Shin Megami Tensei Series, 真女神転生IV FINAL | Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse, 真女神転生IV | Shin Megami Tensei IV
Genre: Angst and Tragedy, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-11
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-18 04:55:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29362854
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rago_Dragovian/pseuds/Rago_Dragovian
Summary: What if, Nanashi picked Bonds but Flynn didn't regain consciousness while fused with Krishna?
Series: Snapshots of the Apocalyptic Multiverse [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2156919
Kudos: 1





	Bonds Nanashi done fucked it up

"Brought down by my own Godslayer... You've become quite strong, kid. It's fine... Thought things might shake out this way, after all..." said the Old Dagda, his tone filled with bitterness. "Unlike humans, the path of gods is set in stone, start to finish... Those of us who represent human understanding cannot waver from the roles we're assigned. But that's not how I would choose to exist... So, you're not going to kill me... You've..."

He perished. Nanashi sighed. The new Dagda proceeded to close the Cosmic Egg and resurrect Asahi to the joy of the party. Nanashi smiled, his heart warmed, and he stepped forth with his friends to face Krishna and rescue Flynn.

* * *

_Ensuing fight with Vishnu-Flynn_

"Ngh . . . stubborn man . . ." said Vishnu-Flynn.

"Flynn!" yelled Isabeau, she waited with bated breath. Vishnu-Flynn stilled. The friends in the back smiled at each other at possibly finishing the battle.

Vishnu-Flynn then let out a powerful magic attack. Nanashi and his friends were caught completely by surprise as a bright flash blinded his eyesight.

"Master!" shouted Toki, her tone fearful.

Nanashi saw the dark silhouette of Toki stand in front of him and vanish into the limelight. He was blasted off his feet and he fell backwards. He felt his sword grow lighter.

Nanashi grit his teeth and forced himself up. He frowned as he saw all of his allies except Toki knocked unconscious. He looked at his hand to see the blade edge of his sword had been disintegrated from the blast. Nanashi gazed in front of him and a lump caught to his throat as he noticed a blast mark with the image of Toki's body on the ground in front of him.

"Toki?" said Nanashi, his voice failing to mask the fear. He heard the new Dagda sigh next to him.

"I'm sorry, kid. But there's nothing left of her." said Dagda, he shook his head. "Eyes up, kid. We can fix that after the battle but you need to take out Vishnu-flynn before that can happen. It seems Krishna was able to subdue Flynn, after all. You . . . may have to-"

"Grrr!" snarled a high-pitched feminine voice. Nanashi glanced backwards. His heart fluttering at the prospect of Toki being there. He felt his heart burst open seeing it was Isabeau forcing herself to her feet. "Damn it . . . those bastards! We must act quickly! I'll support you as best as I can."

"I don't have a sword!" shouted back Nanashi, out of fear. Isabeau's eyes widened and she frowned.

"Use this!" said Isabeau, tossing Masakados katana. "Perhaps a blade with a sheath isn't perfect but . . . Oh! Oh my!"

Nanashi caught the blade and unsheathed it easily. He poised it at the God in front of him. Vishnu-Flynn looked ready for a lengthy battle. Nanashi glared.

"Hm, hm, hm . . . I've taken the time to heal the damage that Dagda has caused." said Vishnu-Flynn, "Such a task was easy for me, now that I've returned to my original power in this new form as the tenth avatar. Soon, the Cosmic Egg will reactivate and all of the souls in this universe shall be free to find salvation from YHVH's heartless meddling!"

"Wait, kid! If you use that sword with the Cosmic Egg like this then-!"

"Not now, Dagda," said Nanashi, readying his stance. His body was aching all over and he felt like he wanted to fall to the floor and take a nap. _I won't quit though. I'll never give up, no matter what thwarts me!_ "I have to do this . . . I have to focus and free Flynn."

The battle recommenced. Nanashi decided to take chances and grew bolder and bolder as the fight continued. The area around them shook as the creepy blood veins containing countless souls seemingly reactivated and the heart at the center of the room began beating once again. Nanashi paid no heed. _Just something to fix later, too._

Finally, after an arduous fight, he managed to submerge the blade straight into Vishnu-Flynn.

"Grh . . . Gaaah!" snarled Vishnu-Flynn.

The transcended form of Vishnu was finally vanquished. Flynn fell to the ground in a heap and Isabeau quickly rushed over. Nanashi glared at Krishna, who held his bleeding green abdomen. Nanashi launched himself at Krishna with the blade firmly in both hands.

"My Godslayer . . . Flynn is-" Krishna bled out of his mouth as Nanashi stabbed him straight through his chest. Krishna dissipated into nothingness.

"Flynn's dead!" cried Isabeau, her voice shrieking with disbelief and horror. Her tearful and angry visage turned to Dagda. "Dagda! Dagda, you can fix this, right?! You can bring him back and Toki as well, can't you?!"

Before either Dagda or Nanashi could respond, the beating heart of the Cosmic Egg exploded and revealed the throne for the New God of the universe.

The lost souls would never return to their human vessels and the universe now required a new God. The Old Dagda's wish had come to fruition.

Nanashi fell to his knees and stared agape at what his determination had wrought. Slowly, his friends regained consciousness and rose to see Isabeau weeping over the dead body of Flynn and the Cosmic Egg's throne having come to fruition.

"What happened here?!" snapped Gaston sharply, "This . . . no . . ."

"The Cosmic Egg hatched . . ." said Nozomi in a hollow voice. She stared at the open seat that use to be a beating heart; her eyes mystified. "Danu . . . what can we do? Can Dagda resurrect the dead souls maybe?"

"Unfortunately no," said Dagda, he sighed to himself as he gazed down at the shell shocked Nanashi. "Even with my power, it would be impossible. My resurrections are limited, I can maybe resurrect one or two people, but around the twenty to thirty mark would exhaust and deplete my magic. Also, it's limited to the affection the kid has for the person. Strangers would be impossible for me. That's all a moot point. I can't influence the souls within the Cosmic Egg at all because it's now beating like a heart and fully functional to ascend whomever takes the throne. To shorten the details, we're now technically inhabiting another space-time in a neophyte universe that's yet to take over. Our old universe is . . . cracked, for lack of a better term. If or when we defeat YHVH, then the change will be inevitable."

"Where's Toki?" questioned Hallelujah, he looked around the red throne room. "Wait . . . don't tell me . . ."

"Dead." muttered Nanashi, he glared at his fists. "Toki jumped in front of me and took the death blast meant to kill me. She sacrificed her life so we could win. Nothing's left of her but that black stain on the ground."

Asahi's eyes widened as she walked over to Nanashi and sat beside him on her knees. She began to rub his shoulders. "I'm so sorry, Nanashi. If only we'd been strong enough . . ." Asahi trailed off.

"If only we'd done a lot differently for the confrontation," muttered Nanashi, as jolt of pain felt lodged in his heart and his sense of helplessness overwhelmed him. He glared at Masakados sword. "Krishna's dead, or sealed away - whichever. He's not a threat anymore. But . . . Flynn died in the process and the throne erupted before I could do anything . . ."

"So . . . are we forced to have someone take the throne after all of our effort and sacrifices?" said Nozomi, her voice shaking. She scowled and glared at the floor. Tears streaming down her eyes. "After all we did?! After all the sacrifices we made?! _This_ is the end result?! Fuck the Divine Powers! And all these nefarious gods and demons that try to kill us all! Fuck them! I can't believe . . . what did all the faeries in the fairy forest die for when the bastards came to attack us?! What the hell was the point of it all?!"

"Nozomi, I'm sorry," said Danu, her voice holding a touch of pain. "But . . . we must act in accordance with what has been done. Someone must take the throne. If we abandon this place, any random god or demon could claim the universe by entering here and worsen the situation further."

"No way! We fought so hard . . . we sacrificed so much! Toki lost her life for our victory!" snapped Nozomi, rounding on Danu. "How can you be so callous?! What about everything we tried to protect?!"

"Mother's right . . ." said Dagda, his voice holding the same lament. "Regrettably, someone has to take the throne. The only way to ensure someone else doesn't take advantage of our efforts is if one of you who has a strong ideal that is manifested into a god or goddess takes the throne. Obviously, that leaves only Nozomi and the kid. But . . . the requirement for a stable, strong universe is to sacrifice what you hold closest in a sort of ceremonial sacrament to expunge the old universe. For the kid . . . that means sacrificing the souls of his closest friends after killing them."

"Never happening!" snapped Nanashi, his visage rounding on Dagda and glaring at him. "I will never sacrifice or hurt my friends!"

"There's no way I can do that either," snapped Nozomi, she sighed. "There has to be another way!"

"...There isn't." said Dagda, his voice holding a solemn tone. "We can't leave this room in a catatonic state. Anyone could fly in and take the throne."

"I am not killing my friends! There has to be another way like Nozomi said!" snapped Nanashi, rising to his feet. Asahi rose alongside him. "We can't just give up!"

"Oh dear, this is quite the conundrum that you have found yourselves in." said a smooth voice.

Nanashi turned to see Stephen having appeared at random. His shoulders slouched and the others smiled with relief upon noticing him. Nanashi felt his lips twitch upward too.

"Hello everyone," said Stephen, as he observed them with a critical eye underneath is bright glasses. "It would seem that all is not well, now that you've all passed a critical juncture. Ordinarily, I would praise your efforts, as they were spectacular merits, but the predicament we have now has given me some pause."

"Is there anything we can do?" asked Nanashi, his voice laced with desperation. _Surely, Stephen will know. He's always around._

"Mmhm . . . first, let me ask you a question, then I'll know how to proceed." said Stephen, "Is it true that neither you nor Nozomi wish to take the throne?"

"That's absolutely correct," said Nanashi, he smiled at the nonplussed visage of Stephen. "I'd never dream of hurting my friends."

"The same goes for me." said Nozomi, nodding her head. "So, what can we do to fix all of this?"

"First, I'd like to share some information with you," said Stephen, addressing Nanashi and ignoring everyone else. Gaston scowled and Navarre appeared miffed. "You shouldn't have any more dreams about your past lives. How do I know? I told you before that I would help you, didn't I?" Nanashi raised an eyebrow and the rest of the group looked stunned. "The Dr. Matsuda disguise was part of that."

"What?!" bellowed Asahi. A sharp intake of breath erupted from Gaston. Navarre let out his patented "whhhaaaat?!" as he uttered his surprise.

"What, you didn't realize? " said Stephen, a thin smile on his visage. He moved a hand upward towards Isabeau and the carcass of Flynn. "The next piece of business I must bestow is some unfortunate news . . ."

A powerful, universe shattering lightning strike plunged upon the dead body of Flynn and Isabeau as the Singularity Lightning that Stephen summoned eradicated them at a molecular level before they had conscious awareness to feel the pain or gain knowledge that they were being slaughtered. The shockwave caused a massive tremor on the entire floor as their bodies were wiped from existence.

_What?! What, what what what what wha- **WHAT THE FUCK?!**_

His friends fell helplessly to the floor, even Danu was forced to stay on one knee as the shockwave of the attack continued long after the two had been evaporated, and Nanashi stared at Stephen with his mouth agape.

"W . . . what?" choked Nanashi in a quiet voice. "Wh . . . why?! HOW COULD YOU DO SUCH A THING?!"

Stephen chuckled as he fiddled with his glasses and relaxed in his chair. "Oh, you poor boy. It was unfortunate . . . but necessary. An explanation is in order. You see, a being such as myself - one who has attained and attuned oneself to enlightenment and gained the vast knowledge and power of the binding force of the universe thereof - can only act in subtle mannerisms to suggest certain . . . routes to be taken in a messiah's life. Fortunately, I know of what can and cannot be done under the Axiom's guidance so I . . . _cajole_ certain activities to occur by - ah - reframing the rules when I can. It is all for the purpose of a selfless resolve of mine, of course. It's all to benefit the messiahs and humanity, really. I merely wish to observe humanity's full potential, because human potential is infinite, so . . . I wish to see it go on forever."

The Bonds group stared stupefied as they tried to understand what Stephen was telling them. Nanashi felt a foreboding sense of horror at the pit of his stomach as the words began to make sense once he factored in the Matsuda disguise and his own life.

_Wait a minute . . ._ thought Nanashi, _I began seeing visions of Akira's life before I ever met the Old Dagda . . . but that . . . No . . ._

"Still . . . I must always remind myself to be patient. You've no idea how many billions upon billions of alternate realities I've visited, much of them the exact same. For the most part, my guidance is sorely wasted as I take time to influence and cajole versions of yourselves, Flynn, and alternate realities with divergent backgrounds in which much of my help is simply a waste. The many versions of you and the other Messiahs mostly just die from situational struggles, get overcome by stronger challenges, or from the most laughable occurrences in life-death struggles due to arrogance on their part. It's effectively, and apologies for my crass wording, game over for the vast, vast majority of these billions of multiverses where these messiahs never reach the endgoal that I had wished to observe." said Stephen, he reclined in his chair. His visage held a faraway look as he seemed to be lost in thought. "Indeed, my selflessness perseveres to no end. After all, what else can you call such patience? My . . . generosity is arguably unparallel to all whom I assist. I give more than I ever ask for. All so that they may carry on with their infinite potential. But alas, such occurrences are so few and far between . . . for as many times as you take Dagda's hand upon death, there's just as many parallel versions who give up at those critical moments. For as many who defeat powerful opponents to reach the next phase in which I assist them, there's far more who perish in the wake of it all. For as many Flynns that choose a path, far more perish before making a choice. Still . . . I give, and I give, and I give . . . I yearned for the moment that the Hero would choose Neutral after I opened the gate to those demons to observe his potential. Eventually, after billions of tries, it finally occurred but it fell apart just the same, so I had hoped the next messiah would pick the path I had helped cajole him towards, and on and on it all goes. All throughout it, I patiently assist each universe with my benevolent guidance."

"What the hell are you even saying?!" snapped Nozomi, "What does this have to do with killing Isabeau and Flynn?!"

"Ah, I shall digress then," said Stephen, he chuckled. Nanashi felt a shiver as he'd never dreaded such a normal act than ever before in his short life. "I must remain patient and follow the Axiom's guiding principles in order to achieve the occurrences of witnessing the infinite potential of humanity. Humanity must choose a path under the guidance of a Messiah bestowed with irrevocably shifting the tide of the world around him or her. Nevertheless, by refusing to act based on your ethical codes, you have caused a critical problem. A choice must be made, if it doesn't then the universe will be in an unacceptable state of neophyte universe breaking the old universe without a new person representing new ethical norms to overtake it and eventually the universe will deteriorate and break apart into a void via damaging the Axiom. Such an occurrence must be avoided as you've failed to follow the Axiom's guiding principles of redefining the universe's norms. Therefore, the Axiom's regulatory effects that prevent me from using my powers are removed and I must now . . . well, ahem, clean the universe so that it isn't irrevocably damaged or possibly spread like a contagion to other universes as such an act would constitute worsening the crisis and potentially destroy the logic of the multiverse by harming the Akasha records and corridors of time. Thus, thousands of universes would no longer have any coherent logic to them. Therefore, your termination is . . . a mercy killing of sorts. You are no longer of any value to the Axiom or myself so I shall do you the kindness of making your deaths painless and quick because I am such a generous and humble person. You can give me your thanks before I help you in this endeavor, if you so wish."

Stephen waved his hand and Black Body Radiation attack knocked the waning ability to stand from the Bonds group. Nanashi gritted his teeth as he forced himself to stand. He noticed the others had been knocked flat onto the ground. Dagda and Danu flew at Stephen to stop him, but Stephen struck them both with Energy Compression attacks and destroyed them instantaneously.

_No!_ thought Nanashi, as his legs barely kept him standing as they threatened to give out at a moment's notice. _NO NO NO NO NO! How could it end like this?! No . . .!_

"I'll stop you for the people, if it's the last thin -!" shouted Gaston, using Odin's spear to force himself on his feet. A Singularity Wave struck him from a wave of Stephen's hand and Gaston was phased out of existence from the powerful radiation strike.

"Gast -!" Stephen waved his hand and obliterated Navarre into complete non-existence.

"Please . . ." begged Nanashi, looking at Stephen with pleading eyes. "Please stop this! _Stop it_!"

Hallelujah flew at Stephen with full demon power in utter desperation. "Leader, I'll act as-!"

Singularity Hail froze Hallelujah in place, turning him into an ice sculpture in a matter of seconds. His icy remains evaporated before even touching the floor.

Stephen doused Nozomi in Singularity Flames as she tried to run toward the throne. She made no sound as the flames burned her body to ashes in seconds. Her consciousness had ended before she could register her own death.

Nanashi forced himself to look at Asahi, who was kneeling on the ground in resignation to what was to come. _I only just got her back, I can't . . . I can't let this . . .!_

Asahi wept as she saw her friends killed one after another. She quickly turned to gaze up at Nanashi. "Nanashi, I lo-"

Stephen snapped his fingers and a Singularity Wave eradicated Asahi into non-existence before she could finish her sentence.

Nanashi finally processed the fact his friends were dead and he was the only one left. He felt a surge of power as his hopelessness and impotence turned into a single-minded hate towards the man in front of him. Nanashi snapped his neck towards Stephen and flew at him with power anew. He was resolved to have vengeance upon Stephen for the murder of his friends.

Stephen flicked his finger at Nanashi's incoming punch and Nanashi's entire right arm ruptured and broke off from his body. It careened onto the far wall and slammed into the veins and walls of blood to be absorbed into the wall. Nanashi fell to his knees before Stephen and looked up aghast at what happened.

"Oh, you poor boy, you thought your boost of energy would matter. Hmhm, while human potential is indeed infinite, the mathematics of it are still relevant. From your current position, you'd barely pose a threat to the demons in the Diamond Realm. You would need hundreds of hours of intense training to even come near my level of battle prowess." said Stephen, he chuckled and shook his head. "I hate to part on such a negative note . . . so I shall entertain you a bit and answer any lingering questions you may have."

Nanashi clenched his teeth and tensed his muscles before relaxing his posture and exhaling. Nanashi buried his hatred and anger as he asked Stephen one simple question. He gazed at Stephen's smirking visage.

" . . . What were your intentions in trying to manipulate me?"

"Manipulate is such a harsh word . . . I'd prefer . . . _help_ as that is more apt. As for the purpose? I simply wanted to watch humanity grow its infinite potential." said Stephen, his lips moving upward. The shine in his glasses practically sparkling from his half-truths. "Nothing else of consequence."

Nanashi gained a horrifying epiphany as he gaped at Stephen. A deep dread chilled him to his very core. "You're . . . just like YHVH; you may not admit it, but it's all fundamentally the same. So long as YHVH's humanity exists, the universe will remain his domain and he'll constantly create a flux of the most extreme variations of Order and Chaos and this is precisely what you want as well. You don't want us living in peace, you want a constant flux of Order and Chaos eternally harming humanity so that you can see its so-called infinite potential carry on forever. Forcing humanity into constant painful struggles like Nebiros is the only way you can observe the infinite potential at your leisure. You claim to be helping like Lucifer and the Archangels, but you're just as extreme and no different from them . . . you never were."

Stephen chuckled at Nanashi's words and didn't deny them. Nanashi shivered as he'd never felt such pain and fear in his life at the sound of the man's chuckling. "I chose wrong. I let the love of my friends and my desire for normalcy blind me to the truth . . . You must have been giving Flynn the same so-called help. You waited for the universes where he picked Neutral and assisted him while pounding my mind with memories of Akira so I'd feel like my decision was somehow a fated choice, when really you were just brainwashing me into thinking my choice was part of some grander destiny. The fact is, my destiny was to die with Nikkari and Manabu that horrible day. I bet . . . I bet there's worlds where I rejected Old Dagda's offer and died, you probably hated those worlds, because you wouldn't be able to conduct your infinite potential experiments without YHVH's interference causing another mass extinction to make a 6th humanity."

" Interesting . . ." said Stephen tapping his chin. "But of little consequence. It is your imminent death and the fear of it that is the source of such gains in knowledge now that I've eradicated all forms of Dagda. He only lives inside your head now and must be bestowing you with the knowledge in a last-ditch effort to assist you since he can do little else."

Nanashi's eyes widened. "Your whole plan was to get Flynn kidnapped so I'd choose the bonds of friendship, wasn't it?! If . . . if every time I witnessed Akira's memories was you forcing them into my mind to make me feel it was destiny, then . . . Asahi and I were so close to reaching Flynn before the Divine Powers did! The only reason we arrived a few seconds later than Krishna and his army was because a flash of memory of Flynn made me dizzy for a brief instance when I walked out of the subway station towards the rock of Masakados body! You . . . you were brainwashing Flynn to get him kidnapped and then brainwashing me for your own selfish goals! That's all we are to you, tools just like how YHVH sees humanity! You're no different from YHVH! You weren't helping me! You deliberately prevented me from getting to Flynn on time so he could get kidnapped, just so you could brainwash me into choosing the path of friendship for your own sick perversions!"

Stephen shook his head. "Oh, Nanashi, you are so incredibly naive."

Nanashi laughed at Stephen in mock satisfaction. "At least, in the end . . . I see you for what you are!"

"Do you? I find you still to be so incredibly malleable to my interests," said Stephen, chuckling at Nanashi. Nanashi glared at him with a look of utter loathing. Stephen smiled serenely. "After all . . . you're naive to think it was just that. My first bout of manipulation was bending the laws of the Axiom to repurpose Akira's soul to create you by the Mikado terminal in the first place. I didn't simply begin manipulating you in your dreams . . . I created you for the purpose of choosing Bonds so that I could put humanity in successive trials that I desired without YHVH's interference. The humanity here was the perfect combination I was looking for. Fortunately, in one occurrence, you did choose Bonds, it's a shame I had to accept seven failures in which you chose Dagda as collateral damage. Well, this chat was pleasant. Farewell, my child."

The Singularity Wave vaporized Nanashi before he could fully acknowledge and emotionally register what Stephen had told him.

Stephen went on to vaporize the fractured universe as per the Axiom's request as a dutiful Enlightened Being.


End file.
